Lauren cries

Lauren raced for the door. Tears flowing down her cheek. “Lauren, wait,” Tom said as he ran after her after he pulled his pants back up. “Lauren, please, stop.”

“Leave me alone, Tom!” Lauren cried. “I don’t care what you say! I’m NOT beautiful! I’m not even pretty! I’m fat! I’m ugly! And I DON’T have an amazing body.”

Tom stepped in front of the door, blocking Lauren’s exit. “Lauren, I know the feeling of insecurity, believe me! But believe me when I say you are still beautiful,” he said, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her clothes back off. “Even under all the layers. You’re still beautiful, Lauren. I need you to know that.”

“You might think that, Tom, but if I go out there! Like this! NO ONE would agree with you. They would mock me. Make fun of me. Humiliate me!” Lauren cried. “My family would turn their backs on me. My enemies would ensure my doom. If they knew I looked like THIS. I wouldn’t be Lauren the Ice Queen.”

“Maybe...” Tom said. “Maybe we don’t need to be the people we pretend to be. Not when we have someone to reassure us of our beauty.”

Lauren sobs, wrapping her arms around Tom’s neck. Tom held her closely, leading them to the couch as Lauren cried. “I’m not beautiful, Tom. I’m not.”

“You are,” Tom said, kissing her again. “You’re so beautiful, Lauren.”

Tom kissed her again and again. Lauren shook her head, and leaned her head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her back. “My mom’s going to be pissed that I ditched them,” Lauren whispered.

“I think she’d understand,” Tom said.

“Understand that I went home with basically a complete stranger and left what was supposed to be a family trip?” Lauren laughed. “No, she’ll be pissed.”

“Well hopefully she’ll just ground you for a few days,” Tom said. “What made you want to... change your looks? What set it off for you?”

“Middle school,” Lauren said. “I was constantly teased for not going through ‘puberty’. People called me Baby Laurie or Little Laurie. Especially whenever I changed during gym class. My mom refused to buy me bras because I didn’t need them. She’d send me to school with no bra and the most embarrassing pairs of underwear so that when I changed in the locker room, the teasing was relentless. There weren’t any stalls to hide behind either. One day, I had enough and found a site that taught me how to convincingly stuff my bras. So, I started doing it, gradually. Until you see the final result. The kids would also call me Pudgy Lauren. Fat Lauren. Fat Ass Lauren. Big Booty Lauren. You name it. So I changed that too. You have to understand, Tom. A guy like you can get away with being fat. A girl like me, people wouldn’t give me a second look if they saw the real me.”

“Well, I did used to be the fat kid,” Tom said. “You’re not the only one who got called names either. What did it for me is... I was dating this girl. Her name was Erica Faye. She was really pretty. I had been working out. She was pretty popular too. But we dated for about 2 years. We were getting really close and she wanted to step it up a notch. Back then, I didn’t realize my size was an issue. She led me to a room, pulled down my pants and underwear... and she laughed at me. She then let her friends into the room and showed them. I was called Tiny Tom until I started to pretend that my dick was growing bigger. I gradually stuffed my pants until I was claiming to have the biggest cock in town.”

“That was cruel,” Lauren said. “What Erica did to you. I’m so sorry, Tom.”

“I understand your insecurities, Lauren,” Tom said. “I just wish it didn’t have to be like this. And maybe it doesn’t. Lauren, I’m sorry you can’t see your beauty. I’m sorry that you feel like you have to pretend to be someone you’re not.”

Tom kissed Lauren again. “Tom,” Lauren whispered as she kissed him back. “If I... talked to my mom. About the truth... would you be here for me? If something goes wrong, if she hates me, if she kicks me out.... would you be here?”

“Of course,” Tom said, kissing Lauren again. “I promise you, I’m not going to leave you, Lauren. I’ll be here. Whatever you need. I’ll be here.”

“Do you think I should... talk to my mom... about the truth?” Lauren asked. “You really think I won’t regret it?”

“I think that if you don’t do it now, you’ll wonder your whole life what could’ve been,” Tom said.

Lauren nodded. “I guess I have a phone call to make.”